Entering my third week on the road, I am finally starting to understand that I am not on vacation, and not on a tour. I have simply moved my life onto the road. I don’t know where I am going, and I don’t know when I will be back.
I do know that I am traveling in a very comfortable coach. This RV is essentially a house on wheels. I’ve cooked almost every day, more often than I do at home. That is partly because most places I’ve stopped there is no place to eat close by. A convection oven/microwave hanging above the stove top works very well for cooking turkey and chicken breasts. The part of the kitchen I really like is the induction stove top. Induction heating works by magnetism, not electrical resistance or gas. The stove top heats up almost instantaneously, and also cools very quickly, perfect for cooking in a motorhome. Induction heating does requires special cookware containing iron.
This is an all-electric coach, there is no propane. Propane is flammable although accidents are rare. Still, using propane requires filling another fuel source. This coach has a diesel boiler that uses fuel from the same diesel tank that the motor uses. The diesel boiler provides an endless supply of hot water on demand. The diesel boiler can also supply heat to the coach. And of course, there is a heated floor. An electric grid of wires laid beneath the floor heats the floor. A 10 KW diesel generator also supplies electricity to the coach using fuel from the motor fuel tank for when you do not have access to an electrical hookup.
The shower is big enough to feel comfortable. The shower in the RV I had before was so small I almost ate my way out of fitting into the stall. The bathroom is in the rear. I also put the cat litter there. The rear of the coach is a much better place than in the last RV where the cat litter was right next to the entrance door. I always thought the tray being by the door felt like, welcome to my RV, please don’t trip over the cat litter.
Between the living area and the bath is a king size bed. I only use half the bed, the coach came with about 10 pillows that take up the other half of the bed. I don’t know where else to put all these pillows. My favorite part of the day is going to sleep in the comfy bed.
Also in the rear of the coach is a washer and dryer. They are not very big, but work well. Doing laundry while you are sitting in the coach drinking coffee or wine is much nicer than to going to public laundromat and feeding quarters into a barely working dirty machines.
The coach has several TVs but I hardly ever watch TV. I no longer have cable TV at home. I almost never plug into the cable connection provided at most campgrounds. The TVs do have Netflix and Amazon Prime built into them. I use the same Hotspot that I use for internet access to connect to the TV so that I can watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO. I’m looking forward to watching the Season 2 finale of Westworld.
The view out the windshield is amazing. The windshield is 8 feet wide by 4 feet tall. The view is like a super high def TV but the image is real.
Well I have to go now, need to load up the dishwasher.
Wow, nice! My parents just got a new 5th wheel and it has massage chairs, an OUTDOOR TV, granite kitchen island, etc, etc. But it doesn’t have a washer and dryer! Or heated floors! Your trip looks great. Keep on truckin’!!
Fifth wheels are great, very popular, that is mostly what I see in RV parks. They have the advantage of being able to disconnect the trailer from the truck, then you have something to drive around in. The limitation of a 5th wheel is that you can’t let your pets ride in it while you are driving, the animals have to be in the truck. Well, at least they should be in the truck, who knows what people actually do.
Just epic Rob! Now that is traveling in luxury! I’m still thinking about the RV and even have someone that wants to travel with me. But I’ll go much smaller. Many factors, mostly $$$$, but ease of driving and not having to tow another vehicle. Keep blogging, I always enjoy seeing where you’re going!
Vinnie
yes Vinnie, smaller has many advantages, much easier to drive and so much more flexible where you can go. Its a tradeoff between comfort and flexibility. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Hope you can get out on the road someday Vinnie. I am not really headed anywhere in particular this year, just north to where its cooler to get out of the hot sweltering Florida summers.